Dual mode intracranial temperature detector

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for detecting thermal radiation emanating from two different intracranial depths in a patient includes a transducer having a surface for placement against the patient&#39;s cranium. The transducer includes a first antenna with an aperture adjacent that surface the antenna being tuned to a first frequency and producing a first signal indicative of thermal radiation received within an antenna pattern extending a first distance from the surface and a second antenna having a second aperture adjacent to that surface within the first aperture. The second antenna is tuned to a second frequency and produces a second signal indicative of radiation received within an antenna pattern extending a second distance from the working surface, the second distance being shorter than the first distance. The two output signals are coupled to a receiver/control unit which thereupon monitors and displays the temperature at the two intracranial depths.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of Ser. No. 11/773,056 filed on Jul. 3,2007, now Patent No. ______.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to temperature monitoring apparatus usingmicrowave radiometry. It relates more particularly to apparatus fornon-invasively and reliably detecting and monitoring the temperature oftarget brain tissue especially in neonatal patients.

2. Background Information

Hypoxic-ischemia or asphyxia is a serious problem in newborns. Lack ofan adequate supply of oxygenated blood to the brain may result inserious brain injury called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). It isestimated that HIE occurs in about 3-9 newborns out of 1,000 terminfants. About half of these infants with HIE (range of 35-50%) will dieor suffer from severe handicaps such as mental retardation or cerebralpalsy.

At the present time, beyond the initial care given to the newborn in thedelivery room to provide artificial breathing or medications, there isno standard care to lessen HIE. Multi-centered trials are currentlyunderway in the United States and elsewhere to measure the safety andefficacy of hypothermia in reducing brain injury events followingperiods of low oxygen to the brain. The objective is to cool the brainby 4-33° with an accuracy of about 0.20° C. Sorely needed, then, is anon-invasive sensor which can reliably detect and monitor temperature ofthe target brain tissue.

Currently, trials effecting hypothermic cooling of the head or systemichypothermia utilize rectal temperature as an indirect index of theinfant's brain temperature. However, while performing hypothermia, it isnecessary not only to control brain temperature but also to control therate of cooling, as well as the rate to re-warm the brain. Such closecontrol cannot be maintained by measuring temperature at a remote sitesuch as the rectum.

It is also possible to measure deep brain temperature non-invasivelyusing magnetic resonance spectroscopy, but the cost and feasibility arebig problems with this approach considering the need for continuous72-hour thermal monitoring of each newborn in a ferromagnetic-freeenvironment, followed by a 16-24 hour re-warming period, bringing thetotal time for each hypothermia procedure to about 96 hours.

The monitoring of auxiliary esophageal and nasopharyngeal temperaturesto indicate intracranial temperature has also been considered. However,these areas like the rectal area are slow in indicating thermal trendsin the brain.

There are also available devices based on infrared (IR) technology whichmay be placed in the ear. The tympanic membrane temperature isconsidered a more reliable indicator of brain temperature than oral orrectal readings because it is closer to the brain. However, theseso-called tympanic devices, although relatively inexpensive, are stillnot considered sufficiently accurate for this application. This isbecause such devices show an inability to deliver an accuratetemperature reading for various reasons such as wax and moisture in theear which are absorptive at IR frequencies. Also, such devices actuallymeasure radiation from the ear canal wall and the environment within theear canal resulting in a lower temperature reading than would beobtained from the tympanic membrane itself. Still further, the availableIR devices are physically large and therefore not suited for the ear ofa neonatal patient who, as noted above, may require continuousmonitoring for many hours. Finally, commercially available IR devices donot read below 34° C., while the preferred temperature range forintracranial cooling is 32.8-33.0° C.

In sum, the prior apparatus are disadvantaged in that they do notmeasure the brain parenchymal tissue directly but rather rely onindirect temperature measurements on other parts of the body and they donot also measure the surface temperature at the cranium thereby allowingthe patient's skin to be over-cooled during the hypothermic treatment.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide apparatus for reliablydetecting and monitoring brain temperature at depth as well as nearsurface temperature directly but non-invasively during long-termhypothermic treatment to reduce the incidence of brain injuryparticularly in neonates.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it an object of the present invention to provide apparatusfor directly detecting and routinely monitoring intracranial temperaturenon-invasively in patients, particularly neonates, using microwaveradiometry.

Another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus whichmeasures not only intracranial temperature at depth but also surfacetemperature to prevent the patient's skin from getting too cold duringhypothermic treatment.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this typeincorporating a miniature dual mode transducer which may be affixedeasily to the head of an infant or neonate.

Yet another object is to provide such a transducer which, while beingused over a long period, does not cause discomfort to the patient.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus inwhich at least part of the associated radiometric receiver may beintegrated into the transducer that is affixed to the patient.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this typewhich includes a disposable radiometer coupling device to provide asterile and intimate interface between the transducer and the patient'sskin.

An additional object is to provide apparatus such as this which includesprovision for ensuring the effectiveness of the coupling of thetransducer to the patient.

Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appearhereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises the features ofconstruction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts whichwill be exemplified in the following detailed description, and the scopeof the invention will be indicated in the claims.

Briefly, the present apparatus comprises a miniature dual modetransducer containing a pair of antennas capable of detecting the nearsurface temperature of a patient's cranium as well as the temperature atdepth therein. By “near surface temperature” it is meant the temperatureof the tissue between the skull and the skin surface which, based onavailable data, is approximately 2 mm. By “temperature at depth” it ismeant the temperature of brain parenchymal tissue at a depth of at least15 mm. Preferably, the transducer is quite small so that it can beaffixed easily to the head of a neonate and remain there for a prolongedperiod without causing discomfort to the patient.

The present transducer for the measurement of brain temperature is,basically, an aperture shared by two antennas. One antenna is used tomeasure temperature at depth, while the second antenna is used tomeasure temperature at or near the surface. The second antenna may belocated in a septum which bisects the aperture. The introduction of theseptum has been found to have little, if any, effect on the receivepattern of the aperture. The determination of surface temperature may bedisplayed by an associated display as “surface” or “skin temperature”,but this data may also be used to enhance the ability of the apparatusto predict temperature at depth.

The apparatus may also incorporate a disposable coupler which providesan intimate sterile interface between the transducer and the patient'sskin. This ensures that the transducer is positioned properly on thepatient's head with no air gaps between it and the patient's skin sothat electromagnetic radiation passes efficiently between the head andthe transducer.

Finally, the apparatus may include a radiometric receiver/control unitwhich responds to the dual outputs from the transducer to provideindications of the near surface temperature and the temperature atdepth. As we shall see, at least parts of the receiver/control unit maybe incorporated into the transducer and the unit may include a uniquenoise injection reflectometer which provides a measure of the quality ofplacement of the transducer against the patient's head.

The dual mode transducer may have antennas of various forms. Onetransducer embodiment comprises a waveguide antenna tuned to a firstfrequency. The waveguide is partitioned internally by a septumcontaining a second waveguide antenna tuned to a second, higher,frequency, the two antennas being capable of detecting thermal radiationreflecting the temperature at depth and the near surface temperature,respectively. A second transducer embodiment includes a similarwaveguide with septum but has a small antenna in the septum which istuned to the same frequency as the waveguide in order to detect the twotemperatures. A third version of the dual mode transducer is of atriaxial construction. It comprises a relatively large diameter outercoaxial cable antenna tuned to a first frequency with a waveguidetransducer within the center conductor of the cable, the waveguide beingtuned to a second, higher, frequency to detect the two aforesaidtemperatures. A fourth transducer version also includes an outer coaxialcable antenna but with a smaller inner antenna in the center conductorof the larger antenna, both antennas being tuned to the same frequency.

When coupled to a radiometric receiver/control unit, all of the abovetransducer embodiments enable the reliable and continuous long termdetection and monitoring of near surface temperature and temperature atdepth in a patient's cranium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the inventionreference should be made to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a dual mode temperature monitoringapparatus incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2A is a bottom view of a dual mode transducer comprising the FIG. 1apparatus;

FIG. 2B is a front view with parts broken away thereof;

FIG. 2C is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3A is a bottom view of a second embodiment of the transducer;

FIG. 3B is front view with parts broken away thereof;

FIG. 3C is a fragmentary perspective view with parts broken away on alarger scale showing a part of the FIG. 3A transducer in general detail;

FIG. 4A is a bottom view of a third embodiment of the dual modetransducer;

FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line 4B-4B of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is bottom view of a fourth embodiment of the transducer;

FIG. 5B is a sectional view taken along line 5B-5B of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a bottom view on a larger scale of the coupler comprising theFIG. 1 apparatus;

FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along line 6B-6B of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C is a diagrammatic view in section on a much larger scale showingthe transducer and coupler in the FIG. 1 apparatus;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a radiometric receiver that may comprisethe receiver/control unit in the FIG. 1 apparatus, and

FIG. 8 is a similar diagram of a second receiver embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, my apparatus includes a dual-modetransducer shown generally at 10 which may be removeably affixed to thecranium C of a patient P such as a neonate. Preferably, a conformablecoupling member 12 is interposed between the transducer 10 and thepatient's skin to provide an intimate coupling between the two which issubstantially devoid of air gaps. As we shall see, transducer 10contains a pair of microwave antennas capable of detecting thermalradiation originating from two different depths in the patient's craniumand producing corresponding output signals which are coupled via a cable14 to a receiver/control unit 16. That unit includes a radiometricreceiver 16 a which, under the control of a controller 16 b, producesoutput signals which reflect two intracranial temperatures in thepatient P, namely, the temperature at depth, and the near surfacetemperature. Unit 16 may also include a display 16 c which responds tothose signals to provide a visible indication of the two temperatures.Display 16 c may also display other parameters such as the date andstart time of the hypothermic procedure, elapsed time, ambienttemperature, patient's pulse rate, apparatus diagnostics, etc. Unit 16may be turned on and off and controlled by way of a keypad 16 d. As weshall see later, in some embodiments of the apparatus, the receiver 16 amay be incorporated right into the transducer.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A-2C, transducer 10 may comprise a first antennain the form of a generally rectangular waveguide 20 composed of a pairof minor-image broader walls 20 a and 20 b, a pair of mirror-imagenarrower walls 20 c and 20 d and an end or rear wall 20 e. Spacedopposite the end wall 20 e is a front opening or aperture 22 which isbounded by the edges of walls 20 a-20 d. The aperture and its boundaryconstitutes the working surface W of the transducer and it may beslightly concave as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C so that it more or lessfollows the curvature of the patient's cranium.

In accordance with the invention, waveguide 20 includes a septum 24which extends between walls 20 c and 20 d so as to partition aperture22. The septum essentially bifurcates the waveguide 20 with little ifany impact on the antenna pattern of the waveguide. Preferably theseptum 24 extends from the working surface W toward end wall 20 e adistance that allows for a coaxial connector 26 to be mounted to wall 20a so that its probe 26 a can extend into waveguide 20 a sufficientdistance to provide a waveguide-to-conductor transition that can coupleelectromagnetic energy to and from the waveguide 20.

In accordance with the invention, a second antenna in the form of asecond, much smaller, waveguide 28 is present in septum 24. As best seenin FIG. 2B, the two waveguides are coaxial and waveguide 28 has anaperture 28 a and extends down into septum 24 where it connects to alateral waveguide segment 28 b via a compact H plane right angle bend 28c. Segment 28 b extends along septum 24 to a port 28 d formed in thewaveguide wall 20 d. It is apparent, then, that the depth of septum 24in waveguide 20 should be greater than the length of waveguide aperture28 a so that the septum can accommodate waveguide segment 28 b.

As depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the transducer 10 also includes atransition unit 32 which may be mounted to the waveguide wall 20 d bythreaded fasteners 34 turned down into threaded holes 36 in that wall.Unit 32 has been removed in FIG. 2C so that the holes 36 are visiblethere.

The transition unit 32 comprises a housing 38 in which there is formed awaveguide extension 42 having an entrance aligned with port 28 d in thewaveguide wall 20 d. The waveguide extension 42 includes an end wall 42a spaced opposite port 28 d and which constitutes an end wall for thewaveguide 28 as a whole. A coaxial connector 46 is mounted to the sideof housing 38 so that its center conductor or probe 46 a projects intowaveguide extension 42 adjacent to its end wall 42 a. Thus,electromagnetic energy may be coupled to and from waveguide 28 via thetransition unit 32.

In accordance with the invention, the waveguides 20 and 28 are tuned totwo different frequencies. More particularly, waveguide 20 operates at arelatively low frequency F₁, e.g. 4 GHz. Consequently, it has arelatively large antenna pattern A₁ (FIG. 6C) which extends anappreciable distance from the waveguide aperture 22 and the workingsurface W, i.e. at least 15 mm. On the other hand, waveguide 28 is tunedto a much higher frequency F₂, e.g. 26 GHz, so that its antenna patternA₂ (FIG. 6C), which is within the envelope of pattern A₁, extends a muchshorter distance from surface W, i.e. about 2 mm. In order to minimizethe size of a transducer 10 operating at these frequencies, thewaveguide 20 is preferably filled with a dielectric material 52 out tosurface W. This reduces the waveguide size by the square root of thedielectric constant ε_(r) of that material. For example, a 4 GHzwaveguide 20 having an aperture 22 that is 3.84×1.59 cm may be filledwith Delrin® acetal resin having a dielectric constant ε_(r) of 3.8.This provides a return loss of 15 dB over the typical 3.75 to 4.2 GHzrange of a receiver 16 a in control unit 16 (FIG. 1). The waveguide 28,operating at 26 GHz, on the other hand, may have an aperture 28 a thatis 0.13 by 0.38 cm and be filled with Teflon® tetrafluoroethylene resinhaving a dielectric constant of 2.1. This antenna provides a return lossof 20 dB for a receiver 16 a having a frequency range of 25 to 27 GHz.

In order to separate the two different frequency signals from thewaveguide antennas, the probe 46 a is spaced from the end wall 20 e ofwaveguide 20 a distance equal to a quarter wavelength (or integralmultiple thereof) at the frequency F₁. This forms a quarter wavediplexer 47 as shown in FIG. 2B that is integrated into transducer 10.

If desired, the waveguide 20 may be mounted within a circular base orflange as shown in phantom at 10 a in FIG. 2A so that the transducer hasthe general shape of a large aspirin tablet that can be affixed easilyto the cranium C of the patient P as shown in FIG. 1.

The cable 14 depicted in that same figure actually comprises a pair ofcoaxial cables 14 a and 14 b releasably connected to connectors 26 and46, respectively. As will be described in more detail later, cables 14 aand 14 b couple the two output signals F₁ and F₂ from transducer 10 to apair of radiometers in receiver 16 a of receiver/control unit 16 toprovide the temperature at depth and near surface temperatureindications that are displayed by that unit's display 16 c.

Refer now to FIGS. 3A to 3C which illustrate a second transducerembodiment shown generally at 50 for use in the FIG. 1 apparatus. Thisembodiment incorporates two antennas tuned to the same frequency, butwhich are still able to detect the near surface temperature and thetemperature at depth in the patient's cranium C. One, outer, antenna intransducer 50 is a waveguide 20 that may be identical to the onedescribed in connection with FIGS. 2A-2C, except that it has a septum24′ that contains, as a second, inner antenna, a stripline 62 having anopen end that constitutes an antenna aperture 62 a in the middle of theseptum at working surface W.

The stripline segment 62 extends down into septum 24′ where ittransitions via a right angle bend 62 b to a lateral segment 62 cconnected to a SMA connector 68 (e.g. Tensolite™ 5678-5CC) mounted tothe wall 20 d of waveguide 20.

In this embodiment 50, the two antennas, i.e. waveguide 20 and stripline62, may operate at the same frequency, i.e. F₁=F2=4 GHz, with thestripline 62 having a shorter antenna pattern than that of the waveguide20 by virtue of its much smaller aperture 62 a. In some applications,the antenna in septum 24′ may be a coaxial antenna instead of astripline.

As with the first transducer embodiment 10, the two antennas are coupledby cable 14 to receiver/control unit 16. However, since they operate atthe same frequency, their outputs may be time shared with a singleradiometer in receiver 16 a of unit 16 to be described, enabling theunit 16 to display the near surface temperature and the temperature atdepth in the patient's cranium C. For the same reason, transducer 50does not require a diplexer.

The septum 24′ in transducer 50 may actually comprise two circuit boards69 a and 69 b positioned side by side as shown in FIG. 3C, the thicknessof the boards being exaggerated for clarity. Actually, each circuitboard is only in the order of 0.32 inch thick with copper cladding 70(0.007 inch) on the outboard face and perhaps some edges of the boardsto constitute a ground plane. The stripline 62 is printed on circuitboard 69 a as a copper trace having a thickness of about 0.007 inch.Preferably, the circuit boards 69 a, 69 b are Duroid™ boards having adielectric constant of 10.

Refer now to FIGS. 4A and 4B which illustrate a third transducerembodiment shown generally at 70. In FIG. 4B, the length of the deviceis exaggerated for ease of illustration. This embodiment includes afirst antenna comprising a coaxial cable segment 72 having an outerconductor 72 a and an inner conductor 72 b separated by the usualdielectric material 72 c. The cable segment 72 extends from a coaxialaperture at working surface W to a short-circuiting end wall 72 d spacedfrom that aperture. It is tuned to frequency F₁. The temperature atdepth signal detected by antenna 72 is outputted by a coaxialtransmission line 74 consisting of a first conductor 74 a connected toinner conductor 72 b and a second conductor 74 b connected to outerconductor 72 a, the transmission line ending in a connector 74 c.

In accordance with the invention, conductor 72 b contains a second,coaxial, antenna comprising a length of waveguide 78 which extends froman aperture 78 a at working surface W to a port 78 b in end wall 72 d.Preferably, the waveguide 78 is filled with a dielectric material 82 tominimize the size of the waveguide as described above. In order tooutput the signal from waveguide 78, a transition unit 32 similar to theone described above in connection with transducer 10 is mounted to theend wall 72 d opposite the waveguide port 78 b. The output from unit 32present at its connector 46 is a signal F₂, e.g. 26 GHz, correspondingto the near surface temperature detected by the transducer 70. As withthe transducer 10, the transmission line 74 is spaced from end wall 72 da distance corresponding to a quarter wavelength (or integral multiplethereof) at frequency F₁. The coaxial portion of antenna 72 and line 74forms a stub support which achieves a right angle bend. The waveguide 78continues on to transition 32 forming a quarter wave stub. Thisstructure thus constitutes a diplexer that serves to separate the twooutput signals F₁ and F₂. The operation of the transducer is thussimilar to that of transducer 10.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B, a fourth transducer embodiment is shown generally at90. It comprises a pair of outer and inner coaxial cable antennas 92 and94 arranged in a triaxial configuration. Antenna 92 comprises an outerconductor 92 a, e.g. 2.03 cm OD, and an inner conductor 92 b, e.g. 0.79cm OD, separated by a dielectric material 92 c. The antenna 94 iscontained within the inner conductor 92 b and is composed of a centerconductor 94 a separated from conductor 92 b by a dielectric material 94b. The coaxial apertures of antennas 92 and 94 are located at thetransducer's working surface W. In this embodiment, the two antennas aretuned to the same frequency, e.g. F₁=F₂=4 GHz. Due to its relativelylarge diameter, the antenna 94 has a characteristic antenna patternwhich extends in the order of 15 mm from that working surface. Theantenna 94, on the other hand, with its much smaller diameter has acharacteristic antenna pattern which is within the envelope of thelarger pattern but projects only about 2 mm from that surface.

The transducer 90 operates in a manner similar to that of transducer 50.It is advantaged in that it can have a low profile because it does notrequire a waveguide-to-conductor transition. In addition, it is fullyshielded from external radiation sources, e.g. fluorescent lights. Also,since both antennas operate at the same frequency, it requires only oneradiometer in the receiver 16 a of its unit 16 (FIG. 1).

Proper placement of the transducers 10, 50, etc. with respect to thepatient's cranium C is a primary concern. The coupling member 12 whichis shown in detail in FIGS. 6A and 6B helps to accomplish this.Preferably, the coupling member is a disposable sterile articlecomprising a small, thin wall conformable plastic pouch or bag 100containing a filler 102 which may be a fluid, a dielectric powder or acombination of both. The coupling member or coupler 12 should have moreor less the same size and shape as the transducer working surface W sothat it serves as a cushion that conforms to the patient's cranium C andthe surface W as shown in FIG. 6C, ensuring that no significant air gapsexist between the two.

The illustrated filler 102 is of titanium dioxide which has a dielectricconstant E_(r) of approximately 10 in powder form. Such a dielectricconstant provides a good transition between the transducer and thepatient's skin. This lower constant also reduces the possibility ofinterference since a lower ε_(r) will, in essence, reduce (in terms ofmicrowave path) the gap created between the transducer and the craniumby the coupler 12. Adding a slight contour to the working surface W asshown in the drawing figures further reduces this gap.

It is also been found that the E_(r) value will be increased with theaddition of, for example, mineral oil which has a dielectric constant of4 coupled with a low loss tangent. This, in essence, displaces any airhaving an ε_(r) value of 1 in the pouch 102 with a fluid whosecorresponding value is 4. Adding other powders with a lower ε_(r) willlikewise reduce the overall ε_(r).

Ideally, the thickness of the coupling member 12 at the center of theworking surface W should be minimal, e.g. the opposite walls of bag 100may be welded together at the center of the pouch, with the thickness ofthe coupler gradually increasing radially so that its outer edge has athickness in the order of 3.8 mm (based on a typical neonate headdiameter of 12.7 cm). In some applications, it may be desirable tometallize the rim of pouch 100 as shown at 103 in FIG. 6B to provideshielding in order to minimize interference from outside radiationsources. Also, if a filler 102 in powder form is used, it is importantthat the powder does not settle out within the pouch 100. To avoid this,the pouch 100 may have a sponge-like interior impregnated with a filler102 consisting of a fluid-powder combination as above.

As shown in FIG. 6C, the surface W may be formed with a small bump 104at its center and the pouch 100 may have at its center a correspondinghole 106 with a welded edge so that the bump and hole may interfit tocenter the coupler with respect to the transducer. Alternatively, thetransducer working surface can be formed with a center dimple adapted toreceive a bump centered on the coupler to achieve the same objective.

In use, it may be desirable to releasably affix the coupler 12 to thetransducer working surface W and/or to the patient's cranium C. This maybe accomplished by covering part or all of the outer surface of thepouch 100 with a low tack adhesive as indicated by the stippling 108 inFIG. 6A. Of course, attachment to the patient's cranium could also beaccomplished through the use of a surgical dressing such as one soldunder the brand name “Op-Site” which is used in many hospital neonateunits.

As noted above, the two dual mode transducers 50 and 90 are advantagedin that both antennas therein operate at the same frequency, e.g.F₁=F₂=4 GHz. Therefore, the receiver/control unit 16 associatedtherewith requires only one radiometer in receiver 16 a which may betime shared by the two antennas. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, the outputsfrom the two antennas of transducer 50 or 90 may be applied to areceiver 16 a including a two-position switch 120 followed by a more orless conventional Dicke-type radiometer having a bandwidth that includes4 GHz and is shown generally at 121. A radiometer of this type isdisclosed in my Pat. No. 4,557,272 whose contents are incorporated byreference herein. That switch may be controlled by signals from a clock122 which are applied to the switch by way of a divider 124 so as toswitch the two transducer outputs to the radiometer at a selectedrelatively low frequency F/N, e.g. 0.1 Hz.

The alternate signals from switch 120 are applied to one input of theradiometer's Dicke switch 126 which also receives, at a second input, asignal from the radiometer's reference temperature source 128. The Dickeswitch may be controlled by signals from clock 122 which are applied tothat switch via a divider 128, or more usually by the radiometerdirectly so that the Dicke switch 126 is switched at a selected muchhigher frequency F/M, typically 60 Hz. The output from the Dicke switchis amplified and filtered before being applied to the radiometer'ssynchronous detector 130 that is controlled by the same signals thattoggle the Dicke switch 126. The detector output is integrated over adesired period and fed via a low pass filter 132 to an A/D converter 134whose output may be applied by controller 16 b to the display 16 c incontrol unit 16 so that the display displays the near surfacetemperature and the temperature at depth detected by the transducer 50or 90.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the larger antenna ineach transducer 10, 50, 70, 90 which detects thermal radiation from abrain tissue volume at depth also detects a thermal contribution fromthe volume near the surface that is sensed by the smaller antenna ineach transducer. This is because the smaller antenna pattern A₂ islocated within the envelope of the larger antenna pattern A₁ (FIG. 6C).Preferably, the controller 16 b uses the radiometer data associated withthe smaller antenna to make a correction to the radiometer dataassociated with the larger antenna that will compensate for the abovenear surface volume contribution to the measured temperature at depth toproduce a true temperature at depth measurement, i.e. a brain coretemperature measurement.

Typical brain temperature behavior as a function of depth may beexpressed as follows:

T=T _(core)-(T _(core)-T _(surf)) e ^((d/cf))  (1)

where d=intracranial depth cf=cooling factor

Using electromagnetic simulations, a transducer depth weighting factor(wf) may be provided which is the fractional contribution of the totalreceived noise power (temperature) by intracranial depth.

The temperature profile may then be integrated over the weighting factorwf as follows:

T _(radiometer)=∫_(surface) ^(∞) {T×wf}d  (2)

to provide an expression for the temperature indication from the totalat depth tissue volume. Knowing the near surface temperature and theindicated temperature at depth, the controller 16 b can compute thebrain core temperature for display by display 16 c.

In order to ensure that the transducer and the coupling member 12 arepositioned properly on the patient's cranium, the receiver 16 apreferably includes a coupler placement monitor in the form of a noiseinjection reflectometer shown generally at 136 in FIG. 7. Thereflectometer comprises a noise source 138 that responds to the signalsF from clock 122 to produce wide band microwave noise which is coupledvia a coupler 140 onto the radiometer 121 input at Dicke switch 126 andis directed out through the larger antenna in transducer 50 or 90.

The presence of an impedance mismatch due to a poor coupling of thetransducer to the patient's cranium C will cause a portion of the noisepower to reflect back into the radiometer 121 where it is detected. Forexample, a return loss of 10 db would correspond approximately to amismatch of 1.9 to 1 and a 90% transmission. The noise source 138 istoggled on and off by signals F from clock 122 and, in more or less thesame way as the Dicke switch 126 compares the input temperature from thetransducer to the reference temperature from source 128, the reflectednoise is compared to the absence of reflected noise to determine areflection coefficient. This provides a reflection measurement that maybe integrated over the detection bandwidth and weighted by the bandlimiting characteristics of the radiometer by controller 16 b. Thatreflection measurement may be also displayed by display 16 c to apprisethe operator of the quality of placement of the transducer on thecranium C.

While the receiver 16 a shown in FIG. 7 is contained in the control unit16, at least some of its components could be incorporated into theassociated transducer. In this event, the FIG. 7 receiver may beimplemented as a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chip142. Such a solid state chip is so small that it may be mounted on atransducer wall, e.g. wall 20 a in FIG. 3A, or it may be placed in thetransducer base 10 a (FIG. 2A). In this event, the antenna connectors,e.g. connectors 26 and 68 in FIG. 3A, may be replaced by striplineconnections to the chip 142. Also in some cases, the receiver circuit isformed as two separate MMIC chips 142 a and 142 b as shown in FIG. 7,the former being incorporated into the transducer, the latter being inunit 16. This simplifies manufacture of the overall circuit 142 andminimizes feedback between the chip components.

In contrast to transducers 50 and 90, the transducers 10 and 70described above each produce dual outputs at frequencies F₁ and F₂ thatare different. Therefore, the receiver 16 a associated with thosetransducers requires two radiometers as shown in FIG. 8. As seen there,the transducer output signal F₁ is coupled to a band pass filter 170which passes that signal to a radiometer 172 having a bandwidth whichincludes frequency F₁. Similarly, the transducer output signal F₂ is fedto a second band pass filter 174 which applies that signal to a secondradiometer 176 whose bandwidth includes the frequency F₂. The outputsfrom the two radiometers may then be applied via suitable amplifiers andA/D converters (not shown) to provide input signals for display 16 c sothat the display indicates the near surface temperature and thetemperature at depth sensed by the transducer 10 or 70.

It will be thus seen that the objects set forth at the outset, amongthose made apparent from the preceding description, are efficientlyattained. Also, certain changes may be made in the above constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in thetransducers 10 and 70, the waveguide-to-conductor transition unit 32 maybe substituted for by stripline or a waveguide-to-waveguide transitionunit that extends to receiver/control unit 16. Therefore, it is intendedthat all matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended toclaim all of the generic and specific features of the inventiondescribed herein.

1. Apparatus for detecting thermal radiation emanating from twodifferent intracranial depths in a patient, said apparatus comprising adual-mode transducer having a working surface for placement against apatient's cranium, said transducer including a first antenna extendingalong an axis to a first end at or adjacent to said working surface,said first antenna having a characteristic first antenna pattern thatextends a selected first distance from said working surface within theenvelope of the first antenna pattern and being tuned to a firstfrequency, said first antenna producing a first output signal indicativeof thermal radiation received within said first antenna pattern, and asecond antenna extending along said axis to a second end adjacent tosaid working surface, said second antenna having a characteristic secondantenna pattern that extends a selected second distance from saidworking surface and being tuned to a second frequency, said secondantenna producing a second output signal indicative of thermal radiationreceived within said second antenna pattern, said second distance beingappreciably shorter than said first distance.
 2. The apparatus definedin claim 1 wherein the first antenna comprises a first coaxial cableincluding inner and outer conductors extending from said first end tothe outside of the transducer to output said first output signal.
 3. Theapparatus defined in claim 2 wherein said second antenna comprises atransmission line within the inner conductor of the first coaxial cableand extending from said second end to the outside of the transducer tooutput said second output signal.
 4. The apparatus defined in claim 3wherein the transmission line comprises a center conductor insulatedfrom said inner conductor.
 5. The apparatus defined in claim 4 whereinsaid first coaxial cable and said center conductor are in a triaxialconfiguration.
 6. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein said firstand second frequencies are substantially the same.
 7. The apparatusdefined in claim 3 wherein the second antenna comprises a waveguideextending within the inner conductor of said first coaxial cable, saidwaveguide having an aperture constituting said second end and a sidewall extending from said aperture to a closed end spaced from theaperture.
 8. The apparatus defined in claim 7 wherein said secondfrequency is substantially higher than said first frequency.
 9. Theapparatus defined in claim 7 and further including a transitionextending from the waveguide to the outside of the transducer to outputsaid second output signal.
 10. The apparatus defined in claim 9 whereinthe transition is spaced from said closed end a distance substantiallyequal to a quarter wavelength or integral multiple thereof at said firstfrequency.
 11. The apparatus defined in claim 10 wherein the transitioncomprises a waveguide-to-coaxial conductor transition.
 12. The apparatusdefined in claim 10 wherein said transition comprises awaveguide-to-waveguide transition.
 13. The apparatus defined in claim 10wherein said transition comprises stripline.
 14. The apparatus definedin claim 7 wherein the waveguide contains a material having a selecteddielectric constant.
 15. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein saidworking surface is concave and has a dielectric coating.
 16. Theapparatus defined in claim 1 and further including a conformablecoupling device having a selected dielectric constant and for placementbetween said working surface and said cranium for couplingelectromagnetic energy between the two.
 17. The apparatus defined inclaim 16 wherein the coupling device comprises a flexible pouch at leastpartially filled with a dielectric material.
 18. The apparatus definedin claim 17 wherein said working surface and said pouch are circular andthe pouch is thinner at its center than at its edge.
 19. The apparatusdefined in claim 18 and further including an electrically conductivecoating at the pouch edge.
 20. The apparatus defined in claim 17 whereinsaid working surface and said pouch have interfitting surfaces forcentering the pouch on the working surface.
 21. The apparatus defined inclaim 17 and further including a low tack adhesive outer coating on atleast part of the pouch.
 22. The apparatus defined in claim 1 whereinsaid first and second frequencies are substantially the same, andfurther including a radiometer having an input and a frequency rangeencompassing the first and second frequencies, and a switch forswitching said first and second output signals alternately to saidradiometer input, said radiometer producing alternate outputs indicativeof the temperatures at said two different intracranial depths.
 23. Theapparatus defined in claim 22 wherein the radiometer comprises at leastone MMIC mounted to the transducer.
 24. The apparatus defined in claim22 and further including a noise injection reflectometer coupled to saidradiometer input.
 25. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein saidfirst and second frequencies are different, and further including afirst radiometer having an input and a frequency range encompassing saidfirst frequency, said first radiometer receiving at its input said firstoutput signal and producing an indication of the temperature at one ofsaid two intracranial depths and a second radiometer having an input anda frequency range encompassing said second frequency, said secondradiometer receiving at its input said second output signal andproducing an indication of the temperature at the other of said twointracranial depths.
 26. The apparatus defined in claim 25 and furtherincluding a noise injection reflectometer coupled to one of saidradiometer inputs.